Apprentices gain practical farming experience while working towards industry-recognised qualifications and vehicle micro-credentials focused on on-farm health and safety.<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu Apprenticeship Scheme manager Gary Brady said strong pastoral support was vital in helping young people succeed in the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are learning how to balance life, study and work,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n
\u201cPastoral support is the part we must get right if we want to keep young people in the industry.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brady said he was impressed by the apprentices\u2019 growth in confidence and capability.<\/p>\n
Seeing this was \u201cwhat brings me back each day\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe apprentices gain confidence and resilience from having to get on with the job and manage the responsibilities that come with living and working independently,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe change in some of them is remarkable when you look back at photos from when they first started.\u201d<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu apprentice Grace Dolton said the programme provided a structured pathway to gain Primary ITO qualifications while building a career in farming.<\/p>\n
She said it also offered the opportunities and variety that came with working for New Zealand\u2019s largest farmer.<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu apprentice Aidan King took part in the Primary ITO Trades Academy programme at Feilding High School.<\/p>\n
Born and raised on a sheep and beef farm, King said he loved being outdoors and relished the opportunity to gain practical farming experience.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to learn the skills and knowledge through the opportunities I get at P\u0101mu and my Primary ITO training and use them to progress into roles such as farm manager or head shepherd,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu apprentice Grace Dolton. Photo \/ P\u0101mu<\/p>\n
Brady was impressed by the strong response to the January 2027 intake.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interest from young people out there is real,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom my days working at Primary ITO Trades Academy, the interest has always been there.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love what the Trades Academy do \u2013 they\u2019re giving high school kids a taste of real life on-farm.\u201d<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu apprentice Aiden King. Photo \/ P\u0101mu<\/p>\n
How the P\u0101mu Apprenticeship Scheme works<\/p>\n
Apprentices begin the two-year programme at P\u0101mu\u2019s Aratiatia Farm near Taup\u014d. <\/p>\n
They live and work together while building foundation skills in dairy and livestock (sheep and beef) farming and working towards the New Zealand Certificate in Agriculture Level 3.<\/p>\n
The programme also focuses on life skills such as budgeting, cooking and living independently.<\/p>\n
In their second year, apprentices specialise in either dairy or livestock and move into fulltime roles on P\u0101mu farms around New Zealand.<\/p>\n
They complete their Level 3 qualification and begin Level 4 study, with support from P\u0101mu and Primary ITO.<\/p>\n
P\u0101mu Apprenticeship Scheme’s Class of 2025. Photo \/ P\u0101mu<\/p>\n
After two years, they continue working on-farm and studying independently, with the support of their local training adviser, while staying connected to the P\u0101mu apprentice network.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring the first year, the apprentices are under the wing of the training advisers, who keep me informed on learning progress,\u201d Brady said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot of communication back and forth.\u201d<\/p>\n
Primary ITO training adviser Elri Levin said the apprentices had been highly engaged in both their on-farm training and off-job learning.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are taking the opportunity to learn as much as they can, and it\u2019s a pleasure to see their progress,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n
Find information about the P\u0101mu Apprenticeship Scheme on the P\u0101mu website.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apprentices gain practical farming experience while working towards industry-recognised qualifications and vehicle micro-credentials focused on on-farm health and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":626230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[3548,18516,3471,31951,12476,22010,78073,138,3121,14934,2082,29163,305,45206,5982,12469,11692,111,139,1536,69,384,22399,15286,307552,9527,3170,18835,4741],"class_list":["post-626229","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-3548","tag-18516","tag-among","tag-applicants","tag-applied","tag-apprenticeship","tag-attracts","tag-business","tag-careers","tag-farming","tag-for","tag-generation","tag-have","tag-highlighting","tag-intake","tag-interest","tag-nearly","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-next","tag-nz","tag-people","tag-places","tag-pmu","tag-pmus","tag-programme","tag-scheme","tag-strong","tag-young"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=626229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/626229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/626230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=626229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=626229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=626229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}